Voting has begun.This election runs from August 20 - September 17, 2018.

All AED members are eligible to vote. We’ve sent electronic ballots to members' email. Members without email will receive a ballot by postal mail.

The “From” field for electronic ballots is “Association for Episcopal Deacons.” The email contains instructions and a unique link to your ballot, which can only be used once. All ballots are anonymous.

The following individuals have been elected to serve on AED's Board 3/2019 - 3/2021:

Vice President/President Elect - Tracie Middleton

Layperson - Bradley Peterson

Deacons - Elaine Bellis, Genevieve Grewell, Carter Hawley

Presbyter - Kate Harrigan

Bishop - Gregory Rickel

Rotating off AED's Board 3/2019:

Maureen Hagen, President; moves to Past President

Douglas Argue, VP, moves to President

Elaine Bellis, Deacon, re-elected for a second term

Presbyter - Kate Harrigan, re-elected for a second term

Bishop - Gregory Rickel, re-elected for a second term

Tracie Middleton, Deacon completing 2-yr term; moves to VP

Lauren Welch, Past President

Open call for Triennial WorkshopsAED is looking for workshops for this Triennial Conference.

Deacons and those in formation are invited to present concerning their ministries on Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8. Any deacon or postulant/candidate involved in ministry relating to reconciliation, broadly conceived, is invited to submit a proposal. Do you work with immigrants, the homeless, racial reconciliation, economic justice? If the goal of your ministry can be viewed as the reconciling of people with each other, people with God, or people with creation, you're who we want.

We hope to gather a showcase of outstanding diaconal leadership, showing that deacons are uniquely gifted with the power of hope, because their identity is vested in the kinds of reconciliation and relationship-building for which our churches and our nations yearn.

Please put this Triennial on your calendar, and submit your idea for a workshop presentation completing this document, and submit it to Jan Grinnellby June 30, 2018.​The planning committee will be in touch with all who submit proposals by September 30, 2018. Thank you.

The charter of the Advisory Council is to gather, organize and make available the best resources for deacon formation and lifelong learning from dioceses throughout The Episcopal Church. Its current task is developing a body of recommended resources to assess diaconal competencies as outlined in the new canons for diaconal formation adopted in 2003.The organizing schema includes competencies, methods for assessing competencies, and the evaluation of resources.

The Rev. Dr. Tim Spannaus is facilitator of the Advisory Council. He is a deacon in the Diocese of Michigan, serving at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak.He is Program Coordinator for Instructional Technology at Wayne State University in Detroit, teaching courses in web technology and multimedia, and Director of Wayne State’s program awarding their Certificate in University Teaching.Tim may be contacted at deacon@tspannaus.com.

Vocational Development: Downloads AvailableThe following materials are in trial form and are still being worked on.

Every three years in June, AED hosts a Triennial Assembly to which we hope to welcome all deacons in the United States, Canada and associated communions. We invite you, your community of Deacons and your diocese to submit a Proposal for hosting this Assembly. Hosting an Assembly helps enliven local diaconal community-building, and provides a tremendous service to the diaconal community as a whole. Thank you in advance for the work you are considering undertaking.

AED attempts to provide wide opportunities for deacons and others to participate, and so attempts to hold the Assembly in a variety of locales around the continent. In order for the event to be successful it is essential to have a well-organized local committee from a host Diocese to offer an invitation and manage on-site activities. The 2016 Assembly was held in Minneapolis, MN.

The AED Board of Directors plans to make site decisions for 2019 and 2022 (if possible) at a Board meeting in March of 2017. Proposals are due March 1, 2017.Download the RFP for full details.

AED is a membership funded association of persons and dioceses within The Episcopal Church whose mission is to increase participation and involvement of all baptized persons in Christ's diaconal ministry, especially by promoting and supporting the diaconate.